His First Doll
by Rosethethief
Summary: On her way home from school, Eri pays a visit to a certain toy store from her childhood, only to run into an intriguing face in the process. Crossover between Nameless: The One Thing You Must Recall and the Seduce Me series. Slight spoilers, obviously. And rated T, just in case.


**DISCLAIMER: I don't own _Nameless, Seduce Me,_ or its characters. Both belong to Cheritz and Michaela Laws respectively.**

 **Well, I certainly wasn't expecting this, (not to mention how quickly I finished writing it as well). But I've wanted to do some sort of crossover fic with these two visual novels for quite awhile now, since I love both games to death. But this was the idea I came up with, and in the end, I feel like this one came out pretty nice.**

 **Originally, I wanted to have this take place after the true ending of _Nameless,_ but I ended up scraping that instead, because I still feel like there are just too many questions left unanswered from it. So, I'd have to say that this fic probably takes place just a little bit after the common route, and before the main events of _Seduce Me_ even take place, such as the brothers meeting Mika after her grandfather died. I hope that makes sense...**

 **Another thing I want to point out...Damien's choosing to hide his mind-reading powers from Eri in this, because he just wants to be cautious about it so he doesn't freak Eri out. He also just doesn't want to acknowledge his demon side, because of how much he resents it.**

 **I really feel like I nailed down both their characters to a T in this, I'm just really proud of how this one turned out in general.**

 **But that's enough rambling from me for now.**

 **Hope you guys enjoy it, and reviews are greatly appreciated!**

* * *

 **His First Doll**

 **(Eri's POV)**

"Thank you so much!" I hurriedly thanked the cashier after taking my purchase and exiting the bookstore. In my hands was a brand new diary I had bought with my allowance, gifted to me from my parents overseas.

 _They're always so busy with their jobs, yet they still find time to think of me. I'll have to remember to thank them the next time I call them._

I smiled at the thought, before carefully slipping the book into my schoolbag, as I started to head back home.

Ever since my grandpa died, things had become very hard for me; I'd cry myself to sleep some nights, and my appetite wasn't what you'd consider the best at the time. At times, I even felt like I was alone…when in fact, I _wasn't_ alone. Because I have _them…_

 _My lovely dolls._

Collecting ball-jointed dolls had become a passion of mine ever since my grandfather passed away; I had gotten my first doll, Lance, while he was still alive. And when he finally passed, I had devoted myself to collecting even more dolls, until I had five in total. These dolls had become an important part of my everyday life: dressing them up, taking pictures of them to update to the blog, and just talking to them like they were actual people. They all felt _real_ to me, and there was just something about them that drew me even _closer…_

And just recently, something _extraordinary_ has happened.

One night, like magic, my dolls came to life, and now we're all going to the same academy together. I still feel like I'm living a never-ending dream; I'm so afraid of waking up and finding myself returning back to my boring old life, it _scares_ me. It scares me to think that they could all just turn back into dolls at any moment. Lance, Yeonho, Yuri, Tei, and Red…all of them have become my _family,_ and I don't want to lose either of them now.

I had opted to walk home from school over taking the hellish bus ride back, since I preferred to preserve my life from all those crazy girls; while I was happy that the boys managed to fit in, the problem was that they were just _too_ popular. I instantly shuddered from remembering the one time I went to school with Yeonho, only to be bombarded by a swarm of his crazed fans.

 _Not as bad as getting off the limousine with them, but still…_

Mentally sighing, I continued on my way until a familiar storefront caught my eye: it was the toy store my parents often took me to when I was little, and I think even my grandpa bought me something here one time, although my mind is a little hazy… I sighed again, knowing that my mind had gone back to grandpa.

 _I still really miss him a lot…even with the dolls to keep me company._

I then distracted myself by looking through the store window, gasping slightly at all of the pretty dolls on display; I noticed that some of them were branded under the Anderson Toys Company, a relatively well known toy company that has become popular worldwide.

 _I think the CEO also has a granddaughter, around my age…?_

I slowly shake my head, feeling unsure. While I don't exactly keep up with the news of it too much, I still admire all of the charity work that their money goes into.

I suddenly look at the entrance, lost in thought.

 _Hmm…would it be too much of me to take another detour?_

I really didn't want to worry the boys at home, seeing that my absence would more than likely cause a stir, but at the moment, I was feeling _very_ nostalgic.

 _I'll just be in here for a few minutes…not long enough for the boys to suddenly send out a search party._

Sighing with resolve, I then carefully open up the door, the bell above it chiming at my entrance: the place looked just as I remembered it, although, I did also notice that a few things have been moved around here and there. It wasn't just dolls that filled the store, but a variety of other toys as well…all of them carefully handcrafted.

 _I can just feel the love that went into making some of these._

Smiling warmly at the thought, it was then that something, or _someone,_ caught the corner of my eye.

 _Huh…? That boy…_

The boy, who had been fixedly staring at a stuffed kitten just now, suddenly turned around and acknowledged my presence; both of us looked equally flustered at this new turn of events, and his rapid movements had actually caused me to stumble and drop my schoolbag.

"Ahh…!"

Papers and textbooks littered the floor, and I suddenly felt so mortified at being so clumsy.

"Oh, my gosh! I'm so sorry!" the boy, regaining his composure, ran over to me in a hurry and thoroughly examined me, brushing his red bangs away from his face. "You're not hurt, are you…?"

"Oh, um…" I found myself hesitating as I stared deeply into his indigo eyes, shining with concern. And I felt… _calm._ Staring into those eyes.

"Um, _yeah…_ I'm fine. Really, I was just a little startled."

He then seemed to nod a little bit in understanding, before his eyes soon softened with guilt. "Here, let me help you with this." He then knelt down onto the floor and helped me organize my things again, his eyes lingering longer on one of my textbooks, before carefully stuffing it back into my bag.

 _His eyes seemed…jealous. Sad, even…did I see it wrong…?_

The boy slightly flinched, before just shaking his head. Quickly, he then stood up and handed me my bag. "Here you are. Um, sorry again for startling you, by the way." He awkwardly laughed as he scratched the back of his head, and suddenly I was reminded of Yeonho just from seeing his bashful and innocent face.

"No need to apologize again to me. Really, it's nothing. But, what were you doing just now?" I was honestly quite curious, now that I think about it. Was he here to buy something for someone else?

At my question, his face seemed to redden even more.

"I was just thinking about whether or not I should, um, buy _this._ "

The boy then delicately picked up the stuffed kitten that had been sitting on the shelf, treating it almost as if it were a real cat: looking at it, I could tell it was supposed to represent a _Persian_ cat, with long and fluffy white fur. I could even feel its two big and shiny blue eyes silently staring at me.

"Heh, it's so fluffy and cute! Are you buying it for someone special?"

I couldn't help but smile at him, even as he fidgeted awkwardly in front of me; it was pretty adorable.

"Well, that's, um…well, you see, it's…" he sighed deeply before quietly continuing. _"…It's for me."_

 _Huh? For him?_

Before I could question the boy any further, he was quick to stop me.

"I-I know it's a little weird for a grown man to be into something like that, _this…_ " he then gestured to the cat, holding it tightly against his chest; I almost felt like crying, seeing how dejected he looked. "The truth is… _I've never had any toys growing up._ Each time my older brother made some for me, they were always taken away; I was never able to get too attached to them for long."

My eyes widened in shock; what kind of parent would treat their kids like that?! It was repulsive and needlessly cruel!

But aside from that, the way he was talking about the doll also reminded me of… _how I liked to collect ball-jointed dolls;_ I couldn't talk about them easily, especially to my closest friends, Soi and Shinbi. I remembered venting my frustrations countless times to the dolls before they became human, hoping that someday, I'd _finally_ be able to tell even my closest friends about my strange hobby. But each and every time I tried, I only _hesitated…_ I was just too afraid to lose them on the off chance that I ever did decide to tell them the truth.

Before I knew it, I started talking again. _"I know what it's like…to feel that way. I know that better than anyone."_

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I _know_ what it's like to feel so ashamed over something you like; you're constantly afraid of what your friends and family might think if they knew, that's why it's usually best to hide it. But in the end, if you _like_ something… _you just like it._ Because it's a part of who you are, and it's what makes you unique to this world."

I was honestly surprised at how wise I sounded, but I knew it was how I truly felt in the end.

 _No matter what, I will never stop loving that one part of myself._

The redhead's eyes were glowing in sheer admiration at my words, silently nodding to what I had to say; I feel like there was a lot more to that look than he let on, but I just couldn't understand it, or what it meant.

Both of us headed up to the counter to buy the doll, the cashier smiling sweetly at us.

 _Never in all my life have I ever felt this comfortable to be around a stranger…come to think of, I never did ask for his name._

Before I even could, however, all he did was chuckle softly and smile sweetly at me.

" _Damien._ My name's Damien."


End file.
